


Grim Dawn

by Tancong



Category: Hololive
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28068414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tancong/pseuds/Tancong
Summary: In an apocalyptic world filled with danger and unknowns, the members of Hololive must fight day by day to survive in their harsh environment in hopes of creating a peaceful home or finding their way back to their own world.In this strange place, some new members are about to find themselves thrust in the middle of a never-ending struggle for survival. The story follows the journey of Pavolia Reine, a peacock robbed of her home, family, and magic.
Relationships: Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Comments: 1
Kudos: 47





	1. Survive

No one in the world is born equal. Some are gifted with luck or fortune. Others find themselves fighting through the cruelty of the world to reach the light. Some persevere through sheer willpower. Others apply all their energy into exerting far more effort than anyone else can match. And some are simply born talented.

Even the talented cannot rest easy. After all, natural talent is simply a force that enables one to learn and perform beyond the understanding of ordinary beings. However, without proper nurturing, one’s own reliance on their own talent can fail them and bring forth their spiraling downfall. Even worse, it could all be taken away from them in a single flash.

Pavlova Reine brushed a stray strand of hair away from her left eye as she gazed out at the gloomy, grey fields. Once a refined and esteemed lady respected for her control over magic and its graceful application in her world, she found herself sent to this world due to an incident at her old academy.

In this new world, she found herself helpless without her magic. Without a way to go home, she was left to fend for herself in a strange new world filled with killer robots and vicious wildlife. She gazed over at the ax she had by her side, chipped and dirtied from the continuous use in the past few days. The cave she inhabited hardly resembled shelter. At best, it provided her cover from the robot drones and carnivorous creatures flying through the sky at night. At worst, it might be her coffin if she got trapped in by a fire, explosion, or even an artificial cave-in. 

Even so, Reine did not shed a tear beyond those that may have escaped in her restless sleep. She knew that she had to remain strong and to continue fighting. Even if she did not know how to continue living without her magic. Even if her only weapon was about to break at any moment. Even if the very cloth on her body was torn nearly to shreds. There was only one way to go home, and she knew better than to bet it on her death.

A robotic whirl alerted her to the presence of uninvited guests outside. Her stomach dropped as she understood that she may have overstayed here at this cave. She knew that it was only a matter of time before they found her by the smoke coming from the cave. She had to cook the raw meat she found and keep warm after all. However, she had hoped that she would be lucky enough to be safe for a while longer.

At least she was awake and ready for a fight. Against seemingly emotionless and tireless robots, just being somewhat rested before a fight was a miracle on its own.

As the first head appeared around the corner of the cave to peek in, it found an ax splitting its mechanical skull in half. As she withdrew it, the sparks flew as the other robots immediately moved in toward her. Fortunately, at least none of them had any sort of ranged weaponry. Without her magic, she was worse than dead if that happened.

Reine took a profile of her assailants as calmly as she could. Her heart lifted with hope, seeing as there were only five units there. They must have sent only half a dozen scouts in each squad. At least there didn’t seem to be any combat-oriented robot with them. The last one he met gave her a nasty scar on her side that she was not looking forward to showing off back home.

In truth, the blades the robots wielded were just as good as the scrap she had in her hand. It was too rusty to even cut as it flew through her silver hair. The swift duck under the first attacker’s blade swing brought Reine in position to swing her own ax up toward its jaw, knocking it back as the next attack came. Unfortunately for her, robots were not untrained in group combat. Back in her homeworld, she was very sufficient in defending herself against other students in group attacks due to their inexperience and lack of coordination. For robots with instantaneous communication and attack plans, she had no such privilege.

The next robot lost its thin neck to a swift swing thanks to the weight of her swing, the ax blade glinting from the light of the campfire as she swung in a swift arc before she could be attacked. She kicked the next against the wall of the cave, slamming her ax into its chest and destroying its circuits. Ducking low, she saw hope as the robot failed to hit her with its wide swing, allowing her to take out its knee.

As she turned to fight the last attacker, she found that it was already on her. With its blade swinging straight down at her, she had no choice but to block the attack head-on. But as she did, she found her ax shaft splitting in half, the shock from all her previous battles far too much for it to sustain.

However, with only one attacker left, she had options. She could retreat into the cave and grab the long staff that she had found. While not a quick killing tool, she learned a lot of stave training at home and could effectively defend herself before battering the robot into submission. She could also run outward, grabbing one of the dropped blades to try and defend herself.

As she made her decision, her eyes widened as her eyes looked down. She felt her leg tightly clamped on by a cold steel hand. The lifeless eyes of the robot whose leg she took away looked up at her, holding her down as she looked back at the blade swinging toward her.

She let out a small scream before gritting her teeth as the blade bit into the arm she held up to defend herself. The somewhat dull blade slid through, leaving a deep cut. The adrenaline in her veins gave her enough strength to kick her leg away from the robot’s grasp, propelling it toward her attacker and sending it sprawling on the ground. With her uninjured arm, she grabbed a blade from the ground and leaped onto the robot. She kept it pinned down as she continuously stabbed its head until the blade finally pierced, breaking off inside the metallic skull as the robot lost the light in its eyes.

Reine pulled herself up shakily, looking back at the cause for her predicament. That robot seemed to have finally shut down as well, the elements leaking through its exposed circuits. She gritted her teeth and she walked toward the back of the cave where she stored various pieces of cloth she tried to clean. It was hardly disinfected but she had to stop the bleeding.

And that was when her toes found a rock and sent her trembling legs falling over, wincing as her arms hit the ground painfully. With that, her vision went black.

The next thing she knew was the sounds of wild dogs growling. They knew that their prey was still alive. She had bled too much, they could definitely smell it from far away. Great, now she was going to be awake when they eat her alive. Just her luck.

Reine let out a wry chuckle as she lacked the strength to hold back the tears from her eyes. The growling felt near now, with the fire nearby crackling its last breath. She still had so many things she wanted to do. How could this be the end for her? Was she just careless? Was she unlucky? Or was this some cruel fate she was never meant to escape?

Just as the lady of peacock began to lose consciousness once more, she heard the yelp and barks of dogs directed toward the entrance. Soon enough, they all went silent.

Despite the fire surely having gone out, there was a strange warmth in the cave. She couldn’t see its source but she was grateful for it as her body shivered. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a darkly clad figure approaching her slowly with a scythe.

If heaven existed, she sure would love to be taken there by a pretty reaper.

“I knew I sensed death near here. Kusotori, you better not let her die.”

With that, her world was dark once more.


	2. New Beginning

Reine sat up with a sharp gasp, wincing in pain from the pressure she put on her injured arm and the healing wound on her side. As her eyes focused and she looked around, she quickly realized that she was no longer in her lonely dark cave. Nor was she dead. Or, at least she hoped she didn’t die  _ and _ still have to deal with pain.

A soft pitter-patter brought her attention to the near distance, where a small figure quickly approached her. The first feature the lady of peacock noticed was the horn on her head, matching in hue with the pretty white hair.

“Oh, you’re awake! Please don’t move too much, you’re not fully recovered yet … Or at least try not to open your wounds again. I worked hard on bandaging you.”

The girl was definitely a demon, which meant she was probably much older than she looked. However, it wasn’t the fact that she was a demon that caught Reine off-guard. Sure, she had never encountered a demon before beyond hearing about their evil acts in stories. However, seeing the small girl standing by her bedside with such a worried expression on her face did not give her any such thought.

“You’re so cute … Can I …”

She quickly retracted her hand which had been unconsciously moving to pat the small oni’s head. Perhaps it was instinct. Perhaps it was something that everyone had the urge to do around this particular demon. It was rude, of course. But she couldn’t help herself.

The oni blushed shyly before letting out a cute giggle. “E-eh? Thank you … Ah … I’ll go call Choco-sensei to check on you.”

With that, she gave a small polite bow before leaving. Reine gave a small wave as the door shut behind her before looking around the room. It was fancy like the infirmary back in her world by any means. It was a simple medical bay built out of wood and bricks. The inner appearance was bland but it seemed very clean at least.

As she looked at herself, she found that she was indeed patched up quite neatly with clean bandages. Seeing as no blood was seeping through, she was either healed with magic or the bandage had been changed at least once before. Just how long was she out?

“One whole day. That’s not so bad for someone who was worn down to the bone from lack of sleep, injuries, and hunger. Not to mention being basically at death’s door from losing so much blood. I guess it’s lucky that Calli-chan managed to find you when she did.”

From the door came a tall succubus clad in a doctor outfit. It was as if she had read Reine’s mind, causing her to have an uneasy expression on her face. To that, Choco gave a soft laugh and pulled a seat next to the bed, sitting down to examine her patient.

“My apologies. I’m guessing that you think I can read your mind. I can’t, but I do have a strong intuition and sense for people’s desires and emotions. I just figured that I should make a comment that might answer one of the common questions people like you have when they first wake up in an infirmary. Sorry if that alarmed you.”

Reine shook her head and mustered a small smile, “No, I should be sorry for assuming things. You all helped me so much and I don’t even know who any of you are. You really saved my life … Or well, the reaper girl did?”

Choco nodded as she held out of hand, gesturing toward Reine’s injured arm. Once she was permitted to examine the wound, she spoke once more. “Ah yes, that would be Calli-chan. Kiara-chan should have been with her as well. You should properly thank them when you’re better.”

Reine nodded thoughtfully as she committed the names to mind. That being said, she couldn’t recall seeing another person in her hazy conscious state back in the cave. She’ll have to ask later. Speaking of which …

“Oh … I’m Pavolia Reine. But you can just call me Reine if you’d like.”

Choco smiled as she took the new roll of bandage from the oni girl to wrap up the peacock lady’s arm once more. The wound seemed closed and almost fully healed, to be honest, beyond a small line of scabs.

“I’m Yuzuki Choco. Most people here call me Choco-sensei. I used to teach and all that. I suppose I still give off that vibe, though I’m more of a doctor around here. Well, I am teaching one student at the moment about medical aid.”

“Ah! I’m Nakiri Ayame. Nice to meet you~” came the soft voice of the girl by the doctor’s side.

Reine gave her a soft smile in return with a small nod. “Nice to meet both of you. I hope I can repay all the help you’ve given me.”

Choco shook her head with a small smile as she cut the end of the bandage, securing it before leaning back. “It’s nothing, don’t mention it. Just try not to come back here too often alright?~ I don’t mind chatting with former patients and even getting meals with them from time to time. But I’d prefer not to have to patch you up again. Just be careful if you do end up getting sent back out in the Wildlands.”

The succubus saw the question beginning to form on the lady’s lips and made a soft hum. “I think you’re good enough to head out on your own. Why don’t you go to the coordinator’s office and say hello to her? She’ll explain some things for you and get you started at our camp. Plus, I’m sure you’re famished. It would be good to take care of that too.”

Reine blinked quietly for a moment before nodding with a small smile. She experimentally pushed herself up with her uninjured arm, glancing at the bandaging on her other one before walking toward the door.

“It’s the building with a sign that says ‘Command Center.’ You can’t miss it. Just ask for Fubuki-senpai and someone will point you in the right direction.”

With that, the two ladies gave her a wave before chatting with each other as they seemed to busy themselves with their next task. Reine made her way out of the building, squinting as the sunset hit her eyes.

It didn’t take long for her to find the building Choco mentioned. It was a bit awkward to ask the few members around for Fubuki’s location, having to resist the urge to stop and make small talk with each of them. Eventually, she would find a white fox wearing clothes very fitting for her role by a large planning table with a large electronic monitor.

After some introduction, she was briefed about the world that she found herself in. While there were a lot of details that Fubuki opted to not flood her with, the general idea was that she had been transported against her will much like the other members. Together, they formed the Hololive Resistance, a group that fought for their survival in an expanse called the Wildlands.

With the help of some otaku references, she learned that they had a setting similar to many fantasy stories. There was an evil boss, almost a god really, who controlled the world around them. He was the reason for the endless robots constantly watching their every move and making their lives as difficult as possible.

However, the predecessors of the resistance were able to build a secure base. Even so, they still had to send out groups to look for new survivors, scavenge supplies, and hunted for resources to upgrade their base and maintain its functionality. Though there were other jobs such as being a doctor, researcher, and cook among other things, most of the members were needed for their combat capability out in the Wildlands. After all, they couldn’t afford to lose anyone to bad luck or even a single mistake.

With that, Reine was given a small name tag and badge which allowed her to access some other basic buildings and marked her as a member of the resistance. She found her way to the cafeteria, greeting the cook with short, polite chatter before taking her food and finding an empty table to sit at. She was informed by Fubuki that she would be assigned a dorm to stay at by the time she finished. Plus she can go pick up whatever was left of her belongings that were retrieved from the cave.

As she absorbed the information and food she received, she heard a clatter of a tray next to her. Upon looking over, she was greeted with a bright grin of someone who seemed to be a zombie with bright red hair.

“Heya! Fubuki-senpai told me that someone new was here. Is it you? You looked lonely so I thought I’d say hi. I just got here too! What’s your name? I’m Ollie! Nice to meet you!”

Before Reine could even respond, Ollie was already starting to eat her food. The rapid speaking pace left Reine’s thoughts in a disarray. When she finally composed her thoughts, she let out a soft cough as she mustered a smile to slowly respond to the barrage of questions.

“Ah yes, that would be me. I got rescued from almost dying in a cave … a day ago? I’m Pavolia Reine. Nice to meet you.”

She began to eat as the other girl struggled to swallow the large mouthful of food that she had decided to consume at that exact moment. When she finally finished, she grinned at the peacock.

“Oh, I see! Yeah it was really rough out there … I did have another girl that I found while running around the Wildlands though so it was a bit less lonely! It’s pretty hard to kill me since I’m a zombie and all. But I mean, it was possible to kill me still if they knew how, so it was kinda scary! Man, it’s really nice to be in civilization at least. And the food tastes a lot better than raw wild dog meat!”

Reine let out a soft chuckle, internally wincing at the memory of the bitter taste. “That’s very true. I’m glad for this nice meal at least.”

They chatted a bit about their past in the world before they came here. Fubuki did warn them that other members might not be so open to speaking about their past, since it might bring up painful memories or other such sentimental feelings they were trying to put aside. However, for the two of them, they felt that it was ok to talk about. At least for now.

Eventually, they would finish their meal. Upon finding out that they were assigned the same dorm, Ollie gleefully led the older girl to their new home. There, they would find a small girl by the name of Anya who was laying in bed reading a book. They introduced themselves to each other before a quiet fell upon the room as Ollie snuck up to read the book along with the other girl.

As Reine checked through her meager belongings, she spoke up.

“Fubuki-senpai mentioned that we would have to pick a job to do around here right? What do you think you two will do?”

Ollie looked over with a grin, “I’ll probably head out there with the other senpais and help them fight the robots! I think I’m getting pretty good, plus it’s hard to kill me so I think it’ll be good to have me around.”

Reine nodded and looked over to the smaller girl. At this, the previously confident and somewhat smug girl became a bit nervous.

“I’m … not sure how I could help quite yet … I can defend myself since I’m actually a weapon but … I’m not sure how exactly to help others as a team.”

Reine gave her an encouraging smile as she nodded. Seeing their gaze fall on her, she supposed that it was her turn to talk about her thoughts.

“I … well, I used to be a magician. But since I can’t use magic here for some reason … I’m not sure either. However, I’m not very good at the other tasks … and since I did get combat training beyond just magic back in my homeworld, I will probably be a combatant as well. I just have to figure out how I can fight properly in this new world.”

With that, the conversation steered off to other hopes and plans for the future. However, they were hardly anything tangible. None of them knew just exactly what was coming in the future before them.

After some chatter, they decided that they should head out to talk with Fubuki to get some advice on their course of action. As they left their dorm, they would find two others entering the hallway at the same time.

“Calli~ You promised me that you would give me a kiss for working so hard during the last mission! I want it now! Now now now!”

The tall girl in orange was pressing up close against the darkly clad reaper that Reine recalled seeing in the cave. Calliope had her scythe threateningly in hand, however, it was far behind the other girl’s back as she continued to back out of the dorm.

“Ugh, I did  **not** promise that kusotori! I might have said I’d get you chocolate kisses or something but there’s no way.”

“Nooooo that’s not fair! I want my kisses! Calliiiiiii”

Suddenly, Reine’s eyes widened as a knife flew past her head, its blade embedding in the pillar near where the arguing couple was standing. That brought silence into the hallway as they all looked toward the direction it came from. There, they saw a figure clad in blue rubbing her eyes with a big frown.

“I’m trying to get some sleep. Can you two flirt somewhere else, please? I don’t usually mind but I’m really tired today.”

The pair gave the girl a small bow, “Sorry Suisei-senpai …”

With that, the lady in blue disappeared back into her dorm once more. Only then did the two seem to notice the group of three standing nearby. The orange girl’s eyes lit up in recognition as she left Calliope’s side to approach Reine.

“Oh! You’re the girl that we rescued from the cave! I’m glad you’re doing alright!”

Reine’s eyes lit up as she gave a bright smile, “Oh, you must be Kiara-senpai! Thank you so much for saving me. I’ll do my best to repay my debt.”

The girl smiled brightly, radiating warmth from her eyes as she did so. “You know my name! Ooh, I didn’t expect to be a senpai so soon. I do like the sound of it though!” After a second, her eyes lit up as if she forgot something.

Her gaze went toward the other members of the group, “You must be the new members that Fubuki-senpai mentioned! I’m Takanashi Kiara! You can call me Kiara! And over there is my wife, Calli!”

“I’m not your wife kusotori. My name is Mori Calliope.”

The reaper approached them with a small frown toward the other girl before turning her inquisitive gaze toward the new members. After a moment of looking them over and letting them all introduce themselves, she nodded to herself.

“Speaking of which, did you all figure out how you might want to contribute to Hololive? There’s no rush if you’re still considering it and getting acquainted with your new surroundings but I figured I might as well ask.”

Upon hearing their explanations, the young reaper nodded. “Hm, that’s more or less what Fubuki-senpai said you all would probably say. Or, well, more specifically Yagoo-san.”

“Eh? Yagoo was here? When?” Kiara’s eyes seemed to light up as she pressed Calli for more information.

All Calliope gave her was a shrug, “Apparently he came back to drop off some information and interesting artifacts then left. He just happened to see the new members at some point, either out in the Wildlands or here. He was the one that informed us we should be on the lookout for them after all. It’s rare to see him, let alone talk to him. You know how he is, the Lone Predator of the Wildlands.”

“Sasuga Yagoo-san.”

Seeing the questioning expressions on the new members’ faces, Calliope sighed and waved them to follow her, casting a wary glance toward Suisei’s door one last time.

“I’ll explain a bit along the way. Let’s go to the training grounds, Fubuki-senpai asked us to evaluate you. I hope you all got a good chance to rest and digest your food.” She let out a small smirk, “Can’t have you deadbeats getting too comfortable around here. I hope you’re ready to prove yourself.”

With that, Reine knew that this would be the first true step in her long journey in a new world full of unknowns and insecurities. However, compared to when she was bleeding out all alone in a cold dark cave, this was far better of a prospect. With this, she still had hopes of surviving and finding a way home.

Yes, no matter the challenges she’ll face and the dangers she’ll endure, she’ll find a way back. Whether it be with these newfound comrades or by her own powers, she’ll make sure to take this chance at life she was given and never let go.

She was ready for a new beginning.


End file.
